Defending their Hero
by Enray
Summary: So more people know about Danny's dual identity. What if we throw them, Jack and Maddie into the Ghost Zone? Sequel to Unmasking their Phantom.
1. Chapter 1

Welcome back guys, to the sequel of Unmasking their Phantom! First of all, thanks to…

ShadowFox123, MoonlightUmbreon, Artgirl4, CCFC, DPcrazy, mystery writer5775, TexasDreamer01, TPcrazy, Smallvillegirl2, Thunderstorm101, sciencefreak330, goldacharmed, zizzy333, Luiz4200, Garnet Sky and Dannyphantomfreeek for reviewing.

Before I go on to the story, here is the disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

Happy reading.

* * *

Danny closed his eyes, feeling the wind play with his snow white hair. Nights like this were hard to come by ever since he was zapped by his parent's ghost portal. No homework, no assignments, no ghosts. He was actually free for once.

The halfa flew over to his house. The past two weeks had been hectic, training the others to fight ghost, or at least learn to defend themselves until help came, or _at least_ learn how to _not_ suck him into the thermos.

Danny sighed. It was almost like Jazz-trying-to-help week all over again, just that it was almost twice as long and there were more people to suck him into the Fenton Thermos.

And then there was Tucker, who just wouldn't stop laughing. Just one look at him would send Tucker into fits of laughter. But, a little intangibility was enough to make him stop. Who knew Tucker wore boxers with technology designs. Actually, why was he so surprised? Tucker _is_ a techno geek.

Again, how is it that he has the ghost powers and Tucker's the weird kid?

Thinking of Tucker's boxers made him think of Dash. Man, that was priceless. The blonde-haired teen refused to go out in public for days. Even now, everyone bursts into laughter whenever they see him.

Danny wiped a tear from his eye as he flew through the window into his bedroom. Ok, enough of mocking Dash. Time to focus on other things.

The plan so far was relatively simple. Lancer continued to give him detention, but he would tutor Danny during detention and allow him to pass up his homework later. And if needed, Danny could retake a test.

Valerie and Danny would patrol on alternate nights. They made sure to always keep in touch so that during a ghost attack, only one would need to go. No need for two of them to go when only one could easily do the job, right?

The Red Huntress was also training Danny in martial arts, actual _training_. Danny rubbed his head. Although the pain was gone, thanks to his inhuman recovery ability, he still winced as he remembered how Valerie thrashed him earlier. She never failed to remind him how weak he was without ghost powers.

While Valerie trained his moves and reflex, Dash and Kwan were helping Danny build up his muscles. He could easily kick ghost butt, but he could barely pass the president fitness test. If people found out that Danny Phantom had the fitness level of a 60-year-old president, he'll die of humiliation.

Weight-lifting, sprinting, even some sports. They were in charge of toughening Fenton up, in secret of course. People would start to point fingers if the quarterbacks suddenly had an interest in Danny Fenton.

Star, being the link between the A-list and 'losers', had the role of message bearer. There was a limit to how many detention Lancer could give without seeming as if he hated Danny with every fibre of his being. And although he was the vice principle, he couldn't help Danny in other subjects.

That was where Star came in. Besides being the link, she also worked together with Sam to tutor Danny. The more the merrier right?

Tucker, Sam and Jazz would continue to help and support him like before. Emotionally, mentally and to kick ghost butt. They were also training so that they could take care of the small fry.

The only person left was Paulina. There was no way Sam would let Paulina tutor Danny _alone_ so that was out. Not that Paulina was good in her studies anyway. For now, Paulina was following them during their patrols, but he didn't know how much longer this could last. Four people was quite a big number.

Anyway, she was so preoccupied at trying to woe him to concentrate. Maybe Valerie would let Paulina go with her. The Hispanic girl actually had quite a good aim, if she wasn't so distracted by him. Her eyes were _always_ on him. Maybe that's why she keeps accidentally sucking him in the thermos.

He used to drool over Paulina but he was over that now, and her attention was freaking him out. And he fought ghosts! Was it a good or bad thing that she knew his secret after he got over his crush on her?

Danny slipped under the covers, sleep crept over him. Although he no longer patrolled every night, he still had less sleep than recommended. At least it wasn't that bad, and he had more free time to play Doomed now…

_Zzz…

* * *

_

I'm having a writer's block right now, so I wouldn't be posting the next chapter in a while. In the meantime, I'll be posting another fanfic, next week. Yeah, I think.

On with the question: Has Jazz asked her parents about the possibility of being half ghost? If so, how did it go?

That's all for now. Please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey, I like your idea of dumping everyone in the ghost zone

Finally, the second chapter. The next one should be up in two weeks time, maybe sooner. Thank you MoonlightUmbreon, Artgirl4, DPcrazy, mystery writer5775, Silver Shadowbreeze, goldacharmed, Syuveil, Luiz4200, GeekGirl2 and Vi for reviewing.

This is the last time I will put disclaimers for this fanfic, even if it makes the chapter seem a teeny weeny bit longer.

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

If I was more imaginative, I would write disclaimers more often that would be funny and interesting. How do those other authors do that?

Enough of my rambling, on with the story.

* * *

"What!"

"Please Val, at _least_ for one night." Danny pleaded.

"Give me one reason why Paulina should go on patrol with me." Valerie challenged.

"If I get sucked into the Fenton Thermos _one_, _more_, _time_, I'm going to break it."

The expression on Danny's face sent Valerie into shock for a moment. He looked close to crazy, and that was something. After all the time she had spent with him, she had never seen him buckle under pressure. Yeah, there were some times where he would do some yelling, but this was beyond yelling. This was serious.

She had never been sucked into the thermos before. Hey, not everyone was half-ghost like Danny. And by the way Danny's freaking out right now, she didn't think she wanted to find out, ever. Since Paulina always somehow or rather suck Danny into the thermos at least once every patrol, she could sort of understand Danny's pain.

But…

"No." Valerie said and slammed her locker door shut. The raven haired boy's jaw fell open.

"Having Paulina with me will only pull me down. It would be dangerous for her to come on my sledge, and in case you hadn't notice, I don't follow the roads."

"But we have to let Paulina do _something_. She has a good aim. You have some problems with into the Fenton Thermos, right? She can suck the ghost into the thermos after you weaken it."

Valerie cocked an eyebrow.

"Paulina has a good aim? _You_ are saying that _after_ she sucked you into the thermos like, 10 times in the past week. Getting sucked into the thermos so many times must have messed up your brain."

"Actually, it was 7 times. And she _has_ a good aim. It's just that she keeps looking at me. When we yell her name, she just aims and shoots at the ghost, which unfortunately, is usually me."

Danny's voice suddenly sounded desperate.

"You have got to take her!"

Wow, how does Paulina make all the guys around her act so extreme? Either they are desperate _for_ her, or desperate to get _away_ from her. Ok, the second one's a first, but who's counting?

"Hey Danny."

Danny gave a yelp and jumped one foot in the air. Valerie could have sworn his arm disappeared for a second.

"Hey Paulina." He replied nervously. His body language practically yelled "I want to run!". This was the ghost boy who had protected them almost single-handedly for the past year? He couldn't even defend himself from Paulina.

"_Paulina is an evil mind controlling spirit from another dimension."_

Yeah, Sam was right in a way. Did Paulina cast any spells on Danny? Because not even Sam or her could make Danny jump one foot in the air just by saying 'Hey Danny'. That was a little unfair. And there she was thinking that Phantom was intimidated by Red Huntress.

Phantom. It was hard to think Phantom and Danny as the same person at first. One was the reason she started ghost hunting, the other was an incentive for her to continue hunting ghosts. She was so intent on defeating Phantom last time, she never realized how human he acted.

Looking at Danny right now, it was hard to imagine him as the cocky, confident Phantom. Maybe that was why no one has made the connection yet, besides the fact that the white hair and green eyes were huge distractions.

She decided to help Danny out. And Paulina really shouldn't be here. Did she want to blow their cover?

"What are you doing here?" Valerie asked, looking at the Hispanic girl with distaste. She couldn't tell whether the hostility in her voice was real or pretend, but she couldn't be bothered.

"I just wanted to apologize for this morning." Paulina purred, her voice so deceptively sweet that Valerie almost gagged.

"It… it's ok. By the way, bothofyouaregoingtopatroltogethertonight. Hey, look at the time, I got to go. Bye." Danny said and ran off so fast that by the time Valerie and Paulina could react, he was long gone.

"He runs fast." Valerie commented.

"Did you get what he said? Because Danny said it really fast." Paulina voiced out.

* * *

That's all for this chapter. And no questions this time.

Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to MoonlightUmbreon, Artgirl4, DPcrazy, Thunderstorm101, TexasDreamer01, TPcrazy, sciencefreak330. goldacharmed, Miriam1 and Luiz4200 for reviewing.

Artgirl4: Good point. And thanks for Star's surname. By the way, you're right. I'm just trying to drag the chapters so that it'll be longer, and so that I'll have a longer time to come up with the best way to add a nice big helping of chaos into the mix.

Luiz4200: Thanks for Kwan's surname.

I'm not sure if I said this in the previous chapter but I'll say it now. Because my limited sense of humour does not extend to disclaimers, this will be the last disclaimer I make for this fanfic.

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

I tried to make this chapter longer. Hope you like it.

* * *

Paulina waited with her scooter outside her house. Her parents weren't supposed to know about her recent night activity. If they knew that she was going out almost every night with the ghost boy…

She looked up as she heard a sound.

"Let's go." Valerie said.

The Hispanic girl hopped onto her scooter and followed Valerie with a small frown on her delicate brow. Usually, she would be trilled by the fact that she was going ghost hunting, but not tonight. You see, _usually_, Danny would be there.

But he wasn't here tonight, and she was also stuck with Valerie. If Danny wasn't so cute and adorable, she would have stormed up to him and demanded that he not team her up with the ex-A-lister.

She looked up, just in time to see Valerie fly over a building.

"Valerie, I can't follow you." Paulina complained through the weird looking green accessory she wore on her ear called Fenton Phones. The only reason she was wearing it was because Danny gave it to her.

"Why not?" Valerie asked. She sounded a little irritated.

"You just flew over the building. I can't do that."

Valerie sighed. Over the Fenton Phones, it sounded like a noisy rush of static. "I'm coming."

The popular girl waited, looking around from time to time to see if anyone saw her, especially anyone from Casper High. She so did not want a rumour to start, saying that Paulina was into ghost hunting.

That rumour would either make her weird, which would force the other A-listers to kick her out of the A-list, even if they were also into ghost hunting right now. That would make her unpopular, and she so did not want to be unpopular. But if she was unpopular, she could spend more time with Danny.

Or, the rumour could make ghost hunting popular, which would mean that more people would spend time with her ghost boy. And what if someone stole Danny from her? He _was_ the cute son of a ghost hunting family.

"Let's go." Valerie said as she flew over to her. Paulina got onto her scooter and followed the Red Huntress.

She liked it better when Danny was here. He could carry her in his arms, if that freak wasn't there. That goth loser was always blocking her from her true love.

Another reason why she liked ghost hunting better when Danny was around was because he looked so much cuter than Valerie.

"Would you just slow down? I can't catch up." Paulina complained as she watched Valerie get further and higher.

"Fine." Valerie grumbled, followed by a quieter mumble. "This was what I meant by she would slow me down."

What? She was slowing Valerie down? Well, yes, she was, but that never happened with Danny. Valerie's just trying to make her feel bad. Or, Valerie was trying to blame her because Red Huntress wasn't as good as Inviso-Bill.

Valerie's watch beeped. Immediately, the tanned skin teen sped off, leaving her behind, again.

"I'm still here you know." Paulina complained for the third time that night. Silence greeted her.

"Go to the fountain at the park." Valerie finally said.

That was so far away. By the time she reached there, Valerie would most probably be done. This was such a waste of time. If only the ghost boy was here.

"You guys don't really like me, do you?" Paulina asked. She didn't know why she said that buy she didn't care.

"What makes you say that?" Valerie asked. She sounded a little breathless.

"Well, I heard the goth loser tell you that I was an evil mind controlling spirit from another dimension, and that I was at the shallow end of the gene pool, and that I was you-can-stand-in-a-puddle-of-me-and-not-get-your-feet-wet shallow. And you're dumping me right now."

"Honestly, we don't. And by the way you're acting around Danny isn't really helping. When you didn't know Danny was Phantom, you thought Danny was below you and you were crazy over Phantom.

"And now that you know Danny's Phantom, you're hanging all over him." Valerie kept pausing between and in the middle of sentences, most probably to catch her breath.

Well, it was true. But that was last time, and besides…

"But Danny's mine."

"No, his not. The only reason why he's putting up with you is because he's too sweet to hurt your feelings. And even if Danny belonged to someone, it would be Sam."

"Since when were both of you so close?"

"We're not that close. Sam just accepted me last week. She really knows how to hold a grudge, especially when Danny's involved. Danny and Tucker are the only exceptions."

Pink lights contrasted with the inky blue sky. She had found her "partner".

"I see you." Paulina informed Valerie.

"Get the Fenton Thermos ready." Valerie instructed.

"I know. Don't need to be bossy." What did Valerie think she did when she went on patrol with Danny? Just watch?

"Just making sure."

Paulina could already see the ghost Valerie was fighting. The ghost had white hair like Danny, but he was no where as cute as Danny. He kept calling Valerie "wipper-snapper". An old man trying to be hip, just like Lancer. That was Techny, right?

She left her scooter behind a tree and braced herself. The two of them were coming closer.

"Now!"

The Hispanic girl quickly uncapped the thermos and sucked Techny into the thermos. She could do that as smooth as Danny, but she was getting better. Valerie flew towards her as she capped the thermos, trapping the ghost inside.

"Danny was right. You _do_ have a good aim." Valerie commented.

"Oooh, Danny said that?" Paulina said happily.

"Yeah, he also said that if you sucked him into the thermos one more time, he would break it." Valerie said dryly. But even that couldn't dampen her spirit. Danny had complemented her!

"Have you been sucking him into the thermos on purpose?" Valerie accused.

"Maybe." Paulina replied slyly. Behind that mask, Paulina thought she saw Valerie frown.

"And _that's_ one reason why we don't really like you. You'd better stop doing that to Danny. You're driving him crazy."

"Don't I drive every boy crazy?"

"No, you only drive their hormones crazy. The next time you decide to suck Danny into the thermos, I won't be surprised if he decides to smash it into little pieces after he gets out."

"If I'm so bad, Danny should kick me out. But he doesn't because he _wants_ me."

"No, Danny's just too forgiving for his own good. The fact that he's trying so hard to let you fit in proves it. So don't push it." Valerie warned. Seeing that they were near Paulina's house, Valerie left it at that and flew away.

Paulina watched as the Red Huntress got smaller and smaller. A sly smile crept into her face.

"I think someone's jealous."

* * *

Q1: In split identity, Danny used something to split himself. Was that Ghost Catcher or something else?

Please review. The next chapter will be up in another two week's time.


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks to Miriam1, Mystic Girl567, Artgirl4, TPcrazy, DPcrazy, Thunderstorm101, Luiz4200, goldacharmed and inukagome15 for reviewing.

Miriam1: Actually, I try to make each chapter from one person's point of view. So since it's Paulina's turn this time, Paulina was the one who said that. She's so self-centred, isn't she?

And now to the story.

* * *

"She's most probably sucking you into the thermos on purpose."

"See, what did I tell you?" Sam said.

"But we have to let her do _something_." Danny argued.

"No, we don't _have_ to. You are just too hopelessly sweet to not let Paulina fit in." Valerie pointed out.

"And let's face it. Picturing Jazz ghost hunting was hard enough when we started. With Paulina, it's like trying to imagine Sam eating meat willingly." Tucker added.

"Can you please team up with Paulina?" Danny pleaded.

"She really restricts my freedom, and I don't like her attitude. Unless she gets a sledge and suddenly had an attitude transplant, I do not want to team up with her." Valerie said firmly.

"If Paulina can't help with the ghost hunting, she can always be your publicist. You keep saying that you need one, right?" Tucker said offhandedly.

Three eyes turned to Tucker.

"What?" Tucker asked self consciously. Who would it be this time? Was Sam going to nudge him or Valerie this time?

"Tucker, you're a genius." Danny said.

"I prefer techno geek, but genius works too." Tucker said. Valerie gave him a punch.

"Ow. What was that for?" Tucker complained as he rubbed his arm. It really _hurt_. What did Valerie do in her free time? Chin ups?

"Don't let that comment get all over your head." Valerie said dryly.

"I was just joking. Can't anyone take a joke?"

Since no one was laughing, he took that as a no. Doesn't anyone here have a sense of humour?

"But Valerie, you've been complaining on how hard it is to use the Fenton Thermos, Paulina could be helpful to you." Danny suggested.

"The keyword is 'could'. But if it's that bad for you, I'll give her another try." Valerie finally gave in with a sigh.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou…"

"Dude, don't you need to breath? Tucker cut in. One girl punched his arm, another kicked his shin.

"Ow, what was that for?" He whined. This was the second time he got hit today, both by _girls_.

"Habit." Sam replied slyly. Knowing her, she might as well have never answered. Just when he thought he had them all figured out, girls still managed to confuse him.

Valerie just shrugged. What was he? Their personal punching bag?

"So, I'll ask Star to pass on the message. Don't forget about our training session this evening." Valerie reminded with a wink as she got up to leave the table.

"More like be-a-voluntary-punch-bag session." Danny moaned.

"That would be an incentive for you to get better." Tucker added.

No one was punching him. That was good. Hey, since when was not being punched or glared at for saying something such a big thing?

And people wonder why he loved technology.

Danny gasped. Tucker quickly looked around. From experience, he knew that things were going to get messy real soon. He preferred to see the ghost first before finding out where the ghost was after he got hit.

"We meet again, ghost child."

* * *

Quite short, but I hope you like it.

Q1: How to spell Fenton Bazooka?

Q2: I kept reading about this 'we don't want the Fenton Anti Creep Stick incident to happen again' thing. What incident was that?

Please review.


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks to TPcrazy, inukagome15, DPcrazy, Thunderstorm101, Dannyphantomfreeek, TexasDreamer01, Luiz4200 and Miriam1 for reviewing.

TPcrazy: Which episode was that? I don't remember that ever happening, and I'm really curious about the anti creep stick incident.

Dannyphantomfreek: TPcrazy says that Jazz hit Danny with the anti creep stick, but you say that Jack and Maddie went after Johnny with the anti creep stick. I'm confused. Are there more than one anti creep stick incident?

I'm not sure if I was supposed to post this chapter this week or next week, but I'll just post it.

Enjoy.

* * *

He stepped aside as the students ran towards the door. What was this? Did they want to kill him by stomping him to death?

The tall boy made his way towards the battle. As long as no one saw him, he wouldn't want to miss the battle. It's unfair that Fenton gets all the excitement. Heck, even Paulina's been fighting ghosts.

"Kwan? What are you doing here?"

"What are _you_ doing here?"

"Yes, why are both of you here?" Star asked, hands at her hips.

"I came to watch Fenton." Dash answered matter-of-factly.

"What he said." Kwan added.

He caught sight of Paulina running towards Fenton and Stulker, or Skuller, with the Fenton Thermos.

"If Paulina can go, we can too." Dash said.

"Actually, I am sure that Mr. Fenton can take care of this on his own. Miss Reynolds, if you may, get everyone back into the safety of the school before the other charges get suspiscious." Lancer interrupted. Party spoiler.

"You heard Mr. Lancer, let's go. I'll get Paulina." Star said.

"I think I'll do a better job." Valerie pointed out.

Where did she come from? And why did she have to wear that suit and stand on that killer sledge. Somehow, it made him fell puny. And he didn't do puny.

Suddenly, the door slammed open. That's weird, he thought the door was open…

"GHOST!"

"What are the Fentons doing here?" Kwan cried out in dismay.

Dash ran. He didn't care if he was going to be punished later, but he was tired of not being the main person. The A-lister was ok with Fenton. They weren't exactly friends, but they were comfortable enough with each other. But being with Fenton made him feel puny, and he did _not_ do PUNY!

The others were running after him. He smiled smugly. Dash always knew that he was a natural leader. See how he could make them follow just by running?

"Stay back!" Danny yelled.

Who did he think he was? Phantom or not, Fenton was still a loser. He did not listen to losers.

And yet, his legs stopped running when Fenton yelled at him. If he did not listen to losers, that would mean that Fenton wasn't a loser.

He would rather listen to a loser once than admit that Fenton wasn't a loser.

His brief pause caused the others to catch up with him.

"What were you thinking?" Star snapped at him.

Dash stared blankly at the blonde girl. If she wanted an answer, he was not thinking. On the field, there was no time for thinking. You just went with your guts and charged. But coach was always scolding him for that…

But he didn't care about the question. Before they knew Fenton was Phantom, Star would never snap at him. She and the others would always think that he was right. But now, she was snapping at him. He could tell, he wasn't the real leader anymore.

Fenton was.

"Watch out!"

Dash only managed to catch sight of Danny's glowing figure before his world turned white.

* * *

I… used up all the questions at Out of Sight. That's funny, I was sure that I had more questions pilled up.

This chapter is actually shorter than the Out of Sight chapter! How did that happen? How? Why? Arrrggghhhhh!

Again, reviews would be totally awesome.


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks to inukagome15, TexasDreamer01, Miriam1, dpphan333, DPcrazy, goldacharmed, Thunderstorm101, Dannyphantomfreeek, Luiz4200 and Artgirl4 for reviewing.

I hope this chapter's longer.

* * *

He didn't know how long he lay there, lying on his side. His hair was in his face, but he couldn't be bothered. He kind of liked it better that way. Mom would say that he should cut his hair if she noticed how long it had grown, if she could get away from ghost hunting long enough to actually look at him.

But at the same time, it was a good thing she and dad were so obsessed with their work, sort of. If they were normal parents who could tell when their children got hurt, he would have a lot more problems keeping his ghost hunting a secret.

The ground was getting hard and uncomfortable, but his body refused to move. He felt so exhausted, his limbs felt like lead. All he wanted to do was to sleep, and sleep.

"No Mrs. Fenton!"

Why was it that whenever he wanted to sleep, there were people ready to wake him up?

A voice he recognized as his mom's entered his ears. Unlike the other burst out, his mom was speaking in long sentences. It took awhile for him to process a part of what she was saying.

"What did you do? Where are the others?" Maddie demanded.

He reluctantly cracked open an eye. The sight that met him was anything but welcoming. He closed his eye.

"Stop pretending. I know you're awake." Maddie hissed.

"Five more minutes." He mumbled.

He drifted off, slipping deeper and deeper into the world of blessed sleep. It wasn't that hard, seeing that he was barely awake in the first place. The only thing that could stop him from being completely dead to the world were the voices that drifted around just at the edge of his consciousness. But that was easily ignored.

The ground wasn't as hard as before. It was almost comfortable. What he really wanted was to sleep in his own bed, but this would have to do. He was so tired that some little stones wouldn't make much difference.

Someone shook his shoulders. He frowned. What did a halfa need to do to get some sleep around here?

"Five more minutes." He mumbled.

"You said that five minutes ago."

"Why do I have to wake up? It's not like I'm late for school."

…

"Oh my gosh! I'm late for class!" Danny yelled as he sat upright, wide awake.

He looked around, his confused mind had a hard time digesting what his eyes were sending to his brain.

"Why are we in the Ghost Zone?" He asked confused.

"Dunno. We just woke up few minutes before you did." Kwan replied.

"We?" Danny asked, his mind still trapped between sleep and wake. His eyes settled on the red goggles and turquoise hazmat suit. "Mom?"

He heard a whirl as the weapon in her arm charged up. His eyes widen in shock.

"I am not your mom. What did you do to the others?" She demanded.

"What did I?" Danny repeated. He quickly looked around, actually taking in his surroundings this time. The piece of land they were on was quite small and had no hiding spots, but he couldn't see anyone. The only people he could see was Maddie. Kwan and himself.

But why was his mom blaming him? He woke up later then them. Why was she so mad? And why did she say that she wasn't his mom?

He looked down at himself.

Oh.

"I'm as confused about this as you. Instead of trying to blast me into pieces, why don't we have a temporary truce? I help you find the others, and you don't tear me apart molecule by molecule." Danny said with as much confidence as he could muster. He learnt long ago that if you acted as if you knew what you were doing, people tend to follow your instructions faster and more willingly.

"Why should I trust you? You are the reason we're here in the first place. Maddie replied hostilely. Danny gritted his teeth.

"Oh yeah. I kidnapped you, brought you into the Ghost Zone, _then_ knocked myself out so that you could tear me apart molecule by molecule while I was still out. Of _course_ I'm the reason you're here. Now excuse me while I try to get back to sleep so that I will be utterly defenseless and you can tear me apart molecule by molecule." Danny shot back and walked away, fists clenched.

Always, always, he was blamed for anything that went wrong. The humans blamed him for what the ghosts did, and the ghosts blamed him for what the humans did. Oh the joy of being a halfa.

He sighed as he planted his butt on the edge of the small floating island. Danny knew that he should be thinking about the others, but he couldn't seem to concentrate.

The halfa dangled his feet over the edge. Why were they separated? Why didn't he turn human after he passed out? How did they get here in the first place?

_Skulker__ held a ball in his hand. It was a different shape from the cubes the hunter usually used, but it had the same colour scheme. Skulker most probably got it from Vlad._

_Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his parents, Lancer and his classmates. Didn't he tell them to stay back? Skulker must have gotten a _major_ upgrade. He couldn't remember the last time he took so long to put just one punch past Skulker's defense._

_Danny dodged another attack. He got hit by Skulker's attack once earlier, and he did not want to get hit again. Those attacks _hurt_, more than usual, a lot more._

_A groan escaped his lips as he saw his parents take out another ball. They showed him and Jazz the gadget earlier. The Fenton Container, no doubt named by his dad, was supposed to generate a containment field around ghosts that would trap them completely because the field itself was the opposite of a ghost's natural energy._

_With two inventions made to catch ghosts, and both of which the target was him, things could not be good._

_Skulker threw the ball._

_Jack threw the Fenton Container._

_He noticed how close the others were._

"_Watch out." He yelled._

_The world faded in a flash of white._

Green eyes flew open, his chest heaving as he gasped for breath.

Somewhere else, blue eyes opened wide.

* * *

Just wondering. Who here knows Fairy Oddparents as well as they know Danny Phantom? Did I even spell the name right?

No questions this time.

Please review!


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks to Artgirl4, Digi-Dolphin, inukagome15, DPcrazy, TexasDreamer01, Luiz4200, Miriam1 and goldacharmed for reviewing.

Luiz4200: You're right… oops…

Miriam1: Actually, I was hoping that you guys wouldn't notice the last line. You know, you read fast, and then you don't actually _read_ what you read. But you guys are so sharp, and now one potential surprise is gone. Oh, and, you guys were supposed to _not_ know what was going on, I think. Because when you get stranded somewhere and you don't see anyone, your first thought wouldn't be 'I need to find them.' It would be 'I need to get home.' So, yeah, it's a little confusing. But I doubt there're any clarifications in this chapter. I'm trying to put it so that everyone's not sure if everyone's in the Ghost Zone.

goldacharmed: Actually, I barely typed the chapter when I read your review. I was like 'oops' sheepish look quickly opens file and starts typing

I hope you like this chapter.

* * *

"_Midsummer's Dream_! Where are we?" Lancer exclaimed. Everything was green. The only solid things were purple doors and random floating islands. Lancer felt more like he was underwater than standing on land.

"It's the Ghost Zone. We don't come here often, but you get used to the creepiness after awhile. Personally, as a goth, I think this place isn't half bad." Sam commented casually as she looked around.

Lancer was impressed at how calm his student was. Miss Manson seemed at home in this odd, unfamiliar space. It seemed that the trio had a lot more courage than he and most people gave them credit for.

"What should we do?" Star asked.

"Waiting seems like a logical thing to do, but I'm not sure how long it would take for the others to find us. And as far as we know, we might be the only three here and the others might not even know we disappeared." Sam replied as she jumped from the island to another.

How Miss Manson could move so fast in those combat boots was still a mystery to him.

"But wouldn't people notice if Mr. Lancer disappears?" Star mentioned as she followed Sam.

"The wrong people, yeah." Sam answered dryly.

"Miss Manson, do you know where you are going?" Lancer voiced out as he followed his student.

"Nope." Sam replied. Lancer paled. Were they going to be stranded here forever?

"But if we had stayed there, some ghost could have seen us. It's too close to Walker's Prison for my comfort." Miss Manson answered as she leaped over another gap.

Lancer tried not to look down. In the Ghost Zone, it was hard not to feel lost. The fact that the green dimension seemed to spread endlessly was a big factor, the fact that he couldn't seem to see the floor was a huge amplifier. Ghosts could float, but humans couldn't. If they fall, would they just continue falling and never hit the end?

The overweight teacher shuddered involuntarily. He was not enthusiastic of testing that theory.

"What are all the doors for?" Star asked.

The overweight teacher found himself trying to walk faster so that he could hear Miss Manson's answer to Miss Reynold's question.

"Don't open any door. Each one leads to a ghost lair." Sam answered.

"Every single one?" Star asked.

"Most. There are also islands that are actually ghost lairs. So watch where you step." Sam replied.

Lancer gulped. There must have been millions of doors in there. With that many ghosts, they could have overtaken Amity Park with sheer numbers. It seemed that Mr. Fenton was right. Most ghosts just wanted to be left alone.

His limbs were starting to feel heavy, his breath becoming heavier as his lungs couldn't seem to get enough air. He knew that he was overweight and unfit, but teaching teenagers in a city with so many ghost attacks filled up most of his time, and it wasn't as if he needed to be fit to fulfill his job as a teacher.

Right now, he was seriously regretting his decision to stay unfit.

"Mr. Lancer, Star, you guys ok back there?" Sam asked.

"No, not really. Can we have a break?" Star moaned.

Lancer cast a glance at Miss Reynolds. His charge didn't seem to be out of breath, and he doubt she was. Star was a cheerleader. You need a lot of stamina if you wanted to stay on the team. To practice a cheer, you could practice non-stop for hours on a single part.

And as far as he could see, he was the only one sweating.

Sam nodded. His charges sat down. He followed gratefully. The two of them started talking quietly, Miss Manson pointing to the air now and then. A few times, he caught Star looking at him with concerned glances. Miss Manson did so too, but her eyes were heavily guarded. Even so, he could tell that she was concerned.

The bald teacher was deeply touched. It wasn't often that you got students who would care for their teacher. Most adolescents merely think of teachers as adults who don't have a life and want to mess up theirs too.

It was students like Miss Reynolds and Miss Manson who encourage him to continue his profession. He knew that he could be boring, maybe he could try to liven it up, so that his charges would actually find it interesting and would actually _listen_ to him. If so, maybe Mr. Fenton wouldn't need to rely on Miss Manson and Miss Reynolds to tutor him anymore.

Lancer looked at the black-haired girl.

That might not be such a good idea. Mr. Fenton and Miss Manson was the densest couple he had ever seen. The whole school knew that they liked each other. Even the teachers have taken notice. If that wasn't any indication, even Mr. Baxter and Mr. Fenton, the older one, knew that they were in love, actually in love with each other.

But for some reason, they just refused to notice their feelings with each other. Those two would most probably only admit their feelings when Mr. Fenton needed to risk his life to save the world from some disaster.

Lancer shook his head and sighed. Teenagers. They could make drama out of anything.

* * *

I'll be random today.

My draft book is falling apart! Waaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Random moment over.

Please review! And no, I don't need a psychiatrist, thank you very much.


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks to Artgirl4, DPcrazy, inukagome15, Luiz4200, Miriam1, goldacharmed and Harm Marie for reviewing.

Hope you like this chapter, even if it was late and is shorter than the previous one.

* * *

He couldn't believe it. Swirly green things, distorted images, islands that defy gravity, doors that float in the middle of nowhere. He had to be in the Ghost Zone. After years of doing research on ghosts, he was actually in the Ghost Zone!

"Ghost!" Jack yelled and pulled out his Fenton Bazooka as he caught sight of a green octopus looking thing float by.

"Of course. This _is_ the Ghost Zone." A wavy haired girl next to him pointed out. Jack grinned sheepishly as he kept his weapon.

What was her name? Did Danny mention her before? Oh wait, she was at their house when Pariah Dark dragged Amity Park into the Ghost Zone.

She was… Va… Val… Val… Valerie. Yeah, Valerie. Damion's daughter.

"So, what do you think of the Ghost Zone? Pretty cool, eh?" Jack blurted out, unable to contain his excitement. There were so many ghosts for him to catch and do lots and lots of painful experiments to extract every single detail even if it meant tearing the ghost apart molecule by molecule.

Wow, that was long. Good thing he didn't have to yell the whole thing every time. His dear Maddie understood with a few simple words of 'tear the ghost apart molecule by molecule'. Maybe he could bring one home in a Fenton Bottle, if he could find one, and do experiments on it.

"I've been here before. Not very good experiences." Valerie replied.

She has? Oh, right. The Pariah Dark incident.

"No worries Valerie, I'll protect you from any spectral spooks." He assured her.

"Thanks." Valerie muttered.

"You're welcome. Do you want me to tell you about my latest invention?" Jack asked excitedly.

"How about after we find the others?" Valerie replied before he could tell her about anything.

Find the others? Jack looked around. For the first time since waking up, he realized that he couldn't see anyone but Valerie. No wonder Maddie wasn't there with him. He just thought that she was quiet because the shock of being in the Ghost Zone was so great.

But who kidnapped them? A ghost, white hair, green eyes.

"That ghost kid. He was the one that kidnapped us. When I see him, I'll tear him apart molecule by molecule and rearrange it so that he'll see his feet in front of his face. No one messes with a Fenton." Jack bellowed. He thought he heard the girl mutter something before she replied.

"Da-Phantom isn't behind this. It's the other ghost." Valerie voiced out. He frowned in confusion.

"What other ghost?"

"The one Phantom was fighting. Remember? The one wearing the mechanical suit and kept saying that he wanted to have Phantom's pelt at the foot of his bed."

"He can have Phantom's pelt. I want his molecules."

"Yeah, nice image. No wonder Phantom's afraid of you."

"Thank you, Valerie. Have you considered hunting ghosts?"

"Actually, I have. In fact, I'm second best."

"Second? Ah, Maddie's first."

"No offense, but the person I'm talking about is Phantom."

"Inviso-Bill is a ghost, and all ghosts are evil. He's just trying to trick us."

"That's what I thought before I got to know him."

Inviso-Bill strikes! He had to shake that thought out of her. To bad he couldn't use the Fenton Stockade on her.

"He attacked the mayor." Jack argued.

"He was framed."

He was? Or maybe he was just trying to fool them.

"You can't trust ghosts."

"That's what I thought." Valerie said as she peered down over the edge of the floating rock. "But Phantom proved me wrong."

"Inviso-Bill only shows his true colours in front of ghost hunters." Jack argued. His eyes widened in surprise as the girl in front of him became the Red Huntress.

"I'm a ghost hunter too."

Jack stared at her. _She_ was the Red Huntress? But she was only Danny's age.

"We can't stay here forever. I'm going to head towards the Fenton Portal." Red Huntress said as she activated her jet sleigh.

"Hop on, Mr. Fenton."

* * *

This chapter's a little boring, but I hope you'll review all the same. They never fail to cheer me up.


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks to TPcrazy, GeekGirl2, Thunderstorm101, inukagome15, DPcrazy, avataraddict, TexasDreamer01, Luiz4200, goldacharmed and Miriam1 for reviewing.

I almost forgot to upload this chapter. I only remembered when I was reading a review by someone two days ago. XP

Enjoy.

* * *

He smirked. Dash had a great talent for getting into trouble, but not as good as Danny. His best friend was practically a walking trouble magnet. Getting pushed around by bullies, fighting ghosts, being a halfa with ghost hunting parents, who could beat all that?

Unfortunately for Dash, his troubles were usually a lot more embarrassing. Fortunately for Tucker, he always had a PDA ready to collect blackmail material. Two in case one got destroyed, as usual.

Dash Baxter wearing a dress complete with make up playing tea party with a ghost. Now _that_ was blackmail material.

It was actually Dash's fault. Didn't he and Danny warn him not to open the door? But _no_, he just had to do it. At least the ghost didn't force the rest of them to play with her. He dressed up as a girl once to cover for Sam, and he still had nightmares sometimes.

But why didn't the ghost choose Paulina to play with her? She's a girl. Don't girls like to play with girls? Maybe the ghost is only trying to humiliate Dash as punishment for waking her up.

"Dude, are you getting everything?" Danny whispered. He had laughed so much earlier that he had a stitch in his side.

"Every single second." Tucker grinned. Lovely technology, without it, he wouldn't have any leverage against Dash.

"We so have to put everything together and make a video or something."

"Already on it, dude. Few more videos and the three of us can have a copy each. Dash will never dare to stuff us into the locker every again."

He heard a sigh. His best friend walked over to the ghost.

"Hey, err, excuse me. Can we have Dash back please? We need to find our way back." Danny said politely.

"Yes. Take this as a lesson to teach you to respect other people's personal space." The ghost said and with a wave of her arm, Dash was wearing his usual quarterback clothes.

"Thanks." Danny said and turned towards the door. Soon, they were back on the long windy road where they started.

"Danny, why aren't you going ghost?" Paulina asked as she fluttered her eye lashes.

"I can't. We have to find another way to go back." Danny said as he looked around.

"According to my PDA, the nearest place you can get help is Ghostwriter's liar." Tucker said.

"He's the reason everyone knows in the first place. I think he's still angry over the whole 'destroying the Christmas Carol' incident. Next choice?"

"Skulker's island."

Danny gave him a look, crossing his arms across his chest. The techno geek wasn't sure whether he did that, crossing his arms, that is, because he was angry, or he wanted to stop Paulina from grabbing his arms.

Oh wow, he still found it weird that Danny was actually trying to _avoid_ Paulina.

"Tucker?"

Oh right, he got distracted.

"We can try Dora's Castle." He suggested.

Danny walked over to him and peered at the screen of his baby. The halfa looked up towards the place Dora's liar would be. A frown appeared on his face.

"That would mean that we have to fly." He mumbled unhappily.

"Dude, you love to fly." Tucker pointed out. Why did Danny sound so unhappy about using the one power he loves the most?

"I can't go ghost." Danny muttered. Tucker's stared at him.

"Really, I tried. I just can't. It's like getting shocked by the Plasmius Maximus again." Danny continued.

"What do we do?" Tucker asked. The halfa looked away.

"Stop Dash from opening any more doors." He stated as they watched Dash move towards a door.

"Hey Dash, didn't you learn your lesson?" Danny asked as he walked towards him.

Unnoticed, Tucker shook his head. Dash was such a moron.

Oh well, more blackmail material for them.

PDA, checked.

* * *

I'm having this major writer's block right now. I have so many ideas but I can't seem to write them down into fanfics.

For those who do not know, I'm looking for challenges. I saw a few people responding to different challenges like 100 drabbles and stuff. It seems like a good way to chase away the dreaded writer's block. I wrote something about it in my profile. Please read it.

And please review. It makes me feel so warm and fuzzy.


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks to TexasDreamer01, DPcrazy, inukagome15, Luiz4200, Artgirl4, goldacharmed and thriefty for reviewing. It's been awhile since I last updated this fanfic. Hope that this would be worth your wait.

* * *

The gloved hand was given to her. To accept it would mean that she was accepting help from the enemy, to ignore it would mean wounding his pride. But ghosts didn't have feelings.

Maddie accepted it.

His features relaxed risibly as the white-haired ghost helped her to the next piece of floating rock.

She never thought that she would be so close to the enigmatic ghost for such a long time without her either aiming a weapon at him or him fleeing. The few occasions where they had met usually consisted of a few words and some firing from both sides, a fleeing Phantom and a disappointed couple.

At first, she thought Phantom fled because the ghost was afraid of their power. She even felt satisfied. But after witnessing a few of Phantom's fights, she knew that Phantom could easily destroy them if he wanted to. The only human closest to being able to fight with him was most probably Red Huntress, and even she wouldn't stand a chance if Phantom got serious.

He has enough power to destroy everyone who's hunting him, if he chose to, he could have Amity Park at his feet in no time, but what was making him hold back? Should she actually believe him? That he was only trying to protect Amity Park?

"Kwan, did Phantom hurt you in any way?" Maddie asked the Korean boy.

The black-haired boy had introduced himself as Kwan Yoshi earlier, one of Phantom's human friends. He may have befriended the ghost because he was 'cool', but Phantom could easily take advantage of him to deceive others. Make friends with the local humans and pretend that he wasn't evil, gain their trust.

"No." Kwan looked as if Phantom would never even consider that action.

Maddie frowned. Phantom had done a good job deceiving the teenager.

"But you can't deny the possibility." She pointed out. When Kwan just replied her question with a blank look, she tried again. "He might have hurt you."

"No, Phantom will never hurt me without a good reason." The teenager said it with such conviction that Maddie believed him for a moment. She had to remind herself that Phantom was a ghost, and all ghosts were evil before she could stop herself from being misled like Kwan.

"How can you be sure?" Maddie prompted. Maybe by digging deep enough, he'll be able to see that Phantom was still a dangerous ghost underneath that heroic mask.

"He could have fought back so many times, but he didn't. And we stuffed him into the locker so many times."

Maddie was utterly confused.

"His locker?"

"Yeah. That was before we knew who he was." Kwan answered. He quickly added, "Phantom would rather get hurt than to let us get hurt. Sam and Tucker call it his hero complex."

The ghost hunter frowned. What did Kwan mean? Who were _we_? Did they know Phantom before he died? It wouldn't be that surprising, seeing that he just recently appeared about one year back. She wouldn't know any recent deaths because they spent most of their time pursuing their dreams.

Could it be that Phantom still thought of himself as a human despite his obvious supernatural powers? He wouldn't be the first. Ghosts needed to recharge, but they don't actually sleep, but earlier, Phantom reminded her so much of her son in the morning. And he even mentioned being late for class.

Phantom acted so much like a teenager. Even his witty banter sounded like what a teenager would say, albeit sometimes not every effective. His body structure, his face, his voice, Phantom certainly could pass as a teenager, if you ignored his ethereal glow and shocking snow white hair.

Another big gap, one too far for her to jump. Phantom floated in front of her. On the other floating rock stood Kwan. Only she was left.

Maddie's purple eyes examined Phantom. Up close, Phantom looked quite small. She could see the muscles under the hazmat suit, but he was still a child.

The ghost seemed nervous under her scrutinizing gaze. A gloved hand rubbed the back of his neck as the other stayed in the air, waiting for her to take it. For a fleeting moment, she saw her son in the supernatural being.

She accepted his hand.

* * *

Parta should be out tomorrow. And for those who still do not know, I'm looking for, preferably one worded, challenges. It can be for Danny Phantom or other categories, as long as I can write them. More info on my page.

_Thank you for reading, please review._

_Girls to the right, boys to the right. Take your turn._

-looks quizzically at the please review robot-

-robot explodes-

-ducks-

I can fix that. But it'll help if you review.

Please?


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks to Artgirl4, hollagirl, Charmed-and-More, inukagome15, mystery writer5775, DPcrazy, goldacharmed, Luiz4200 and Thunderstorm101 for reviewing. You guys are the reason I typed this chapter.

* * *

"How do you know where you're going?" Star blurted out.

"I don't. I thought Lancer raised this topic before." Sam replied simply as she leaped over to another rock. Star stared at the goth.

"You don't know where you're going? Don't you guys have a map of the Ghost Zone or something?" Star panicked. She got lost in a bus station once when she was young. The experience wasn't something she would like to relive.

"We have two maps. One's in Danny's room, the other's on Tucker's PDA." Sam answered.

"Why didn't you bring it here?" Star yelled. Sam eyed her evenly.

"Oh, I didn't know we _planned_ to be here in the first place." She replied.

Star blushed. Guilt started to eat at her. She shouldn't have burst out like that. Usually, she would be a lot calmer.

Then again, _usually_, she wouldn't be in the Ghost Zone.

"Sorry, I… shouldn't have yelled at you. It's just. I had a nasty experience when I was young. I guess I overreacted." Star explained.

"I know how you feel. I have to live with my parents everyday. And my mom keeps wanting me to wear those hideous frocks." Sam replied and shuddered.

The blonde looked quizzically at Sam. How did Sam's parents come into this conversation? They aren't that bad, and neither are the frocks. She wouldn't mind wearing them to formal balls.

"I think we should rest for awhile. Mr. Lancer seems a little worn out." Sam interrupted her thoughts.

She looked back. Two islands away, Lancer had his hands on his knees, panting.

"Should we help him?" Star asked. She could see his sweat from here.

"I doubt we can help him without wounding his pride. He's still a guy after all." Sam replied as she looked away before Star could catch the expression on her face.

They waited patiently as Lancer scrambled over to the floating rock beside theirs.

"We're taking a break now, Mr. Lancer." Star informed him.

"Yes, that sounds excellent." Lancer replied as he sank gratefully onto the ground.

The next few moments were filled with Lancer's ragged breathing. Maybe they should include Lancer in their ghost hunting training. A little exercise would do him good, and might even earn him a little respect from his students.

Star sat on the rock, wrapping her arms around her legs. The excitement of being near Phantom was starting to fade, replaced by mutual respect. Danny, Sam and Tucker faced so many weird and icky things and saved the world so many times before the world even _knew_ half the time that they were in danger.

Some of the others kept begging Danny to let them see the Ghost Zone, but she was contented to just being in the human world. She liked things to be familiar and safe, not unknown and strange. But she was here now, and she didn't like it.

The only reason she was staying in Team Phantom was because she wasn't out there fighting ghosts. She wouldn't mind fighting one or two, but she decided long ago that ghost fighting just wasn't her thing.

What she couldn't understand was how Paulina put up with ghost hunting. Was she _that_ obsessed with Phantom? Star was starting to wonder why she still hung out with the Hispanic girl.

She sighed. Living in the most haunted city in the world, she should have gotten used to the paranormal and all things unusual by now, but she still feared ghosts. They could do a lot more than just hurt her, and the only person truly in their way was Danny. Not a lot of people notice that.

"Star!"

That voice. She turned around.

"Kwan?"

* * *

_I eat reviews, and nothing more._

_Please review so I starve no more._

Phew. The "please review" robot is finally fixed. I shall dub thee… err… what name would you guys want to name… her.

Please review so that she "starves no more". XP


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks to Artgirl4, inukagome15, Miriam1, PhantomGirl12, DPcrazy, Azure Inu, Skyheart92, TexasDreamer01, Luiz4200, Yugisrose and Vi for supporting this fanfic.

It's been awhile since the last chapter, one reason's because I couldn't find the book I wrote this chapter in, so I couldn't type it.

But it's here now, and I tried to make it longer. I still can't reach five pages on Microsoft Word…

Please read on while I wallow in… whatever emotion I'm feeling or should be feeling following the previous statement.

* * *

It was stuck. Well, and truly, stuck. Was her effort to come here all in vain?

Next to her, Jack had his palms on the door between them and the familiar basement-turned lab.

"Let's go." Valerie said. Her voice sounded defeated.

"Where?" Jack asked.

"To the other ghost portal." She replied. Valerie had hoped that they wouldn't need to go there.

After knowing who Vlad really was, she just couldn't bare to meet him again. How should she treat him? Should she pretend that he was still the Mr. Masters who got her started on her ghost hunting activities, or should she treat him as the Plasmius who wanted and almost killed Danni?

"There's another one?" Jack asked as they started moving.

"Yeah." Valerie replied. She couldn't help but think that Technus must be very good, seeing that her sled didn't break under Danny's father's weight.

Not that she would ever let that ghost know. His already long exclamations would only increase with something else to yell to the sky.

"Where?" Jack asked excitedly.

"Somewhere. They're actually a lot more natural portals between the two worlds than what you think."

As she answered, her eyes swept over their surroundings. She had to pick up any potential foes with her eyes alone instead of activating her ghost sensor because, well, it'll be beeping all the way. After all, this _was_ the Ghost Zone, where ghosts were _supposed_ to be in.

Movements drew her eye to an island. The first thing she noticed was his raven black hair.

Red Huntress changed her course.

The figures on the island grew bigger as they neared. She could make out, Danny, Tucker, Dash and Paulina from where she was now.

"Mr. Fenton! Valerie!" Tucker called out, causing the others to look up.

"Danny!" Jack yelled. The big man ran straight to Danny and gave him a humongous hug the moment his feet touched the island.

"Dad… air… breathe…" Danny had a very odd look on his face. His cheeks were flushed red with embarrassment, but his face was also turning blue because of the lack of oxygen.

Valerie was suddenly extremely glad that she had her father as her father.

Still in her suit, she made her way over to Tucker.

"The Fenton Portal is locked. We can't go out." Valerie informed him quietly.

"Bring me there. I'm not a techno geek for nothing." Tucker said as he patted his PDA fondly.

"You can open it?" The possibility had never occurred to her. She had thought that the portal could only open from the other side.

"What are you guys talking about?" Danny asked as he joined them, finally free from his father's bear hug.

"The portal's locked. Valerie's going to take me there to unlock it." Tucker answered.

"I'll come and fetch you guys later." Valerie said as she activated the sled. "We'll try to come back as soon as possible."

Paulina came over and draped her arms around Danny's neck.

"You're going?" She asked as she pulled Danny closer to her.

"Yes. We'll come back as soon as we can." Valerie had to stop herself from prying the Hispanic girl off Danny.

"Danny and I will stay here." Paulina purred.

Blue eyes looked frantically at them, conveying a message that his mouth could not.

_Help_.

Valerie shook her head. Someone had to look after the others. She had to go because she was the only one who could control the sled, Tucker had to go or it would defeat the whole purpose of going to the portal in the first place, Danny couldn't go because it would be really weird if Phantom suddenly turns up after Danny disappears, she didn't trust Paulina, Mr. Fenton was too enthusiastic and Dash was usually the _reason_ for trouble.

No, she'll feel a lot better if Danny was with them.

Tucker was already on the sled behind her.

"Good luck staying in one piece." Tucker grinned before they left the island.

Valerie concentrated on her wristwatch. The last thing she wanted to do was to get both of them lost. She did not watch as the island grew smaller behind them.

"Can you go faster? I have a bad feeling." Tucker spoke quietly to her, his voice so low that she almost didn't hear him.

There was no emotion in the voice that she usually heard from him. No playfulness, no complaints, no mischief. She could only just detect the worry hidden in his quiet voice.

Valerie spurred the sled to go faster.

* * *

_Go to the right, go to the left._

_See the button? Go click left!_

The robot is now officially named "Poetess". Treat her well, people.


	13. Chapter 13

Thanks to those who reviewed. Artgirl4, Yugirose, DPcrazy, Azure Inu, inukagome15, goldacharmed, Luiz4200, and Thunderstorm101, thank you loads for your reviews.

Sorry for the slow update. Getting stuck. I know what I want, I think, at the end, but I'm not sure how I'm going to connect from here to there. But for now, just enjoy this chapter.

* * *

"We're taking a break." Miss Reynolds called out. He nodded, panting too hard to form an answer and knowing that a nod would suffice. The bald teacher sank to the ground, grateful for the brief rest.

Mrs. Fenton settled down near him. Her purple eyes watched him carefully from behind the red lenses, as if trying to look into his very being. Feeling uncomfortable under the scrutinizing gaze, he cleared his throat.

"How may I assist you, Mrs. Fenton?" Lancer asked.

"What is your opinion of Phantom?" She replied quietly.

Lancer turned his gaze over to Danny. The younger generation was gathered close, just out of earshot, heads bent in a hushed discussion. Everyone was giving their own thoughts, but it was clear who the head was. Danny had come a long way since the first time he saw him.

"He's resourceful, brave, a responsible teenager that would protect others with every fibre of his being." Lancer answered.

"How are you so sure of your last statement? He may just be acting the hero to gain our trust before attacking." Mrs. Fenton argued.

Mr. Fenton destroying Amity Park? He had told them of his alternate future self, who reduced Amity Park to rubble within ten years. However, _their_ Danny would never do that. He had seen what he could do, and had made a promise never to let that possible future come to pass.

Another factor that was different then and now is that then, he was alone, now, he had the support of the whole Team Phantom. He could rely on them to help him through any hardships.

He turned his eyes to Mrs. Fenton. After years of teaching, he had gathered that people usually would believe a statement if the speaker held the listener's eye, to show that what the speaker actually believed what he was saying.

"I assure you, Mr. Phantom would do no such thing."

"He attacked the mayor."

"How can you be sure that the mayor was not overshadowed by another ghost and that Mr. Phantom was merely trying to _save_ the mayor?"

"He's a ghost, and all ghosts are evil."

Mr. Fenton was only half ghost and not all ghosts were evil.

"How sure are you of that statement?" Lancer asked.

"Very." The voice didn't sound very convincing.

Lancer let his eyes land on his charges.

"You have spent some time with Mr. Phantom, what is _your_ opinion of him during that time?" Lancer asked, careful not to place any suggestions in his question.

Mrs. Fenton followed his gaze to the group of teenagers. She unconsciously bit her lip as she searched through her memory.

"Kwan places a lot of trust in him, and I'm sure a lot of people, especially teenagers, look up to him. Phantom is either a very good actor, or he actually wants to protect Amity Park. He carries himself like a teenager, a leader, sometimes…" Mrs. Fenton trailed off.

"Sometimes?" Lancer prompted. Despite himself, he was curious of Mrs. Fenton's thoughts on her son's counterpart.

"Sometimes, when I space out, when I'm not looking at him, and he talks to me, I feel like, sometimes, it's like I'm talking to my son. I would catch him doing little gestures that my son always does." Mrs. Fenton was struggling visibly to let the words leave her mouth.

"If someone reminds you so much of your son, he can't be as evil as you think." Lancer suggested subtly. Could it be? Would she finally see the real Phantom? A small ember of hope flickered. However, purple eyes hardened, and he knew that he had failed to convince her.

"We should continue our journey." Maddie said, her emotions were locked behind the mask of the ghost hunter. She rose to her feet with much more grace than what he could ever be able to possess. The overweight teacher gave a soft groan as he stood up, his body protesting the whole way.

His charges, seeing that the adults were ready to leave, scrambled to their feet.

"Let's go" Phantom said and turned his back to them. His peers moved, gathering around the special teen without any conscious thought. They walked in a tight group as they continued their discussion in hushed voices, leaving a small gap between the two different generations.

Next to him, he noticed purple eyes fix on the white-haired teen, confused, curious, devoid of hatred for the halfa. Maybe what he said had left an effect on Mrs. Fenton. Maybe, he hadn't actually failed after all.

* * *

_Now you've read this, what do you think?_

_Just send a review so we know what you think._


	14. Chapter 14

I've been feeling lazy lately. Sorry for the general lack of posts. This is more of a filler.

Thanks to Artgirl4, cartoon-crazy987, CatalystOfTheSoul, GeekGirl2, goldacharmed, inukagome15, Luiz4200, DPcrazy, Ocean's Nocturne of the COCA and SMILE;P for the reviews. Your support keeps me going.

* * *

She felt him stiffen in her arms. A faint frown appeared on her delicate brow as Danny started looking around. She was comfortable with her position earlier, why did he move?

"Guys, we need to move." Danny said seriously.

"But Danny, we need to wait for Valerie and Tucker." Jack replied lightly.

"They will understand." Danny said firmly and pulled Paulina's arms off him.

"Valerie told us to stay here." Dash protested.

"I'm sure they will understand." Danny said and pointed towards the green sky.

Paulina followed his finger. What she saw made her freeze.

"Everyone follow me." She vaguely heard Danny's voice before a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her.

* * *

He gasped. A small tendril of cold breath coiled in the air. He didn't get into a battle stance like how he would in the human world, because ghosts were normal in the Ghost Zone. Now he knew why most ghosts didn't have a ghost sense.

Emerald eyes scanned the green expense. Not all ghosts were violent, but still, better safe than sorry.

After a few moments, he picked up a few people running on the islands. There were four humans. One girl, three guys. On adult, three teens. Three humans, one halfa.

Danny Phantom stood where he was, stunned as he watched his other lead Jack, Dash and Paulina from one floating island to another. This was not happening.

"Danny?" Sam asked as she appeared beside him. There was a gasp, followed by, "Danny!"

Danny Fenton looked up.

Phantom's first reaction was to grin. He didn't know why, he just did. When the blue eyes met his green ones, Phantom expected a shocked look, but all he saw was… enlightenment. Did his other half know they were separated? He hadn't tried to go human, so he wasn't sure.

He involuntarily broke eye contact with his other when his body suddenly shuddered violently. Green eyes looked ahead. They widened to the size of tea saucers.

Chasing the other group was at least a dozen of Walker's officers.

"Break's over." Phantom barked. His voice came out harsher than he intended, but he didn't have time to think about it before he flew towards Danny's chasers.

"Phantom." He heard the unmistakable fangirl yell from Paulina. Despite the situation, he rolled his eyes. Tucker was weird, Paulina was weird, wasn't _he_ supposed to be the weird one?

His gloved hands glowed green as he neared the enemy.

"Capture the halfa. Both of him." Bullet ordered.

"Not going to happen." Phantom declared before flying straight into him.

* * *

"Where are they?" Valerie said in frustration. Of all the times to oppose her, he chose now? The portal was open, it would only be a few minutes away with the Spectra Speeder.

But where were the people?

"Real world item detected." A mechanical voice reported.

"That should be them." Tucker said and turned the vehicle.

Red Huntress crossed her arms. Danny had better have a good explanation. He may be stronger, but being strong didn't mean that he could not listen to other people.

"So, you got a date for the Spring Dance?"

Valerie stared at Tucker. Was he serious? Anyway, Spring Dance was next _year_.

"We should concentrate on looking for the others." She said stiffly. Now was not the right time.

"I'm sure Danny can handle himself." Tucker said. His tone was light, but what was that frown? Was it to do with that bad feeling he had earlier?

Everything suddenly became clear to her. Tucker was worried, most probably worried out of his mind. The only reason why he wasn't freaking out now was because he was busy pretending to be carefree and generally unaffected by what was happening. The real Tucker wasn't a whiner, he was just pretending to be one to provide a distraction for those around him.

Just when you think you know someone, you find something that shatters your knowledge of your friend.

* * *

Please give me some feedback. And thanks for reading.

BTW, Poestess is having a really long holiday. She has a little bug. I need to fix that soon.


	15. Chapter 15

Thanks to Artgirl4, DPcrazy, Garnet Sky, Cartoon_crazy987, Thunderstorm101, inukagome15, Luiz4200, Oh My God They Killed Kenny and artyluvr for reviewing.

First of all, I'm not dead. There are a few reasons why I didn't update.

Number 1: I was lazy. I admit, I was feeling lazy. The fact that I suddenly found a whole bunch of interesting and some inspirational Harry Potter AU fanfics didn't help at all.

Number 2: My exams. It started on 21 October. The last day is 7 November. Yeah, I still have one week of exams left.

Number 3: I wasn't sure how to write this part convincingly. But a sudden spark of inspiration settled that problem. I made it extra long, hopefully.

Please enjoy.

* * *

Too many. Phantom may be strong, but he couldn't fight all of them at once.

Beside her, Danny had already grabbed a weapon and was shooting at the ghosts. He didn't seem particularly worried of hitting Phantom, and Phantom seemed to know where every shot was. Telepathy?

Anyway, Danny had the right idea. The day she let Danny, Fenton or Phantom, fight alone was the day she willingly wear those hideous floral frocks. Fenton helping Phantom doesn't count because they were technically the same person.

Sam started shooting. The others were shooting too, even Lancer. Together, they could even up the odds a little.

Bullet yelled something and the other ghosts turned their attention away from Phantom to the humans, them. Now Phantom wasn't in such a bad situation, but they were. They were outnumbered, not too much, but a ghost, having powers, had an advantage over humans, and they were in the ghosts' territory. This was bad, but they will survive somehow, whether by their own power or by luck. They've been in worse situations than this, but they were still in one piece. That had to count for something.

The ghosts closed in fast. One of Walker's goons fired at her from her blind spot. She barely dodged the cuffs that would trap her limbs to her side. She didn't want that. If she got caught, she would only be a liability.

Groans. Sam crouched as a shot flew above her, passing through the space where her chest had been few moments ago. A quick look showed that Star and Lancer were on the ground, glowing green cuffs around their wrists and ankles.

One by one, Team Phantom was immobilized. They were now horribly outnumbered. Even thought their weapons worked better on ghosts than a ghost attack on them, they were bound to the ground while the ghosts had more freedom.

Sam fired. She shouldn't think about that. They were already caught in the bad situation, they would just have to face it with whatever they had like all their other battles.

The goth dodged a cuff, only to jump right into another. Another cuff was aimed towards her ankles and she fell to the ground. Now, only the two Dannys and Mrs. Fenton were left. Few moments later, human Danny was captured and brought straight to Bullet.

"Human, cease fire." Bullet commanded. His fingers wrapped around Danny's neck as he held the blue-eyed teen in front of him like a shield.

Sam clenched her fists. No matter how powerful Danny was, she always worried for him during his ghost fights. That was why she never hesitated to help out. By helping out, she could make things easier for Danny, she could take comfort in the fact that she was doing _something_ to help. And now, Bullet had taken Danny hostage, Danny was powerless, she couldn't do a single thing. If she could just free herself, she would give him hell.

"You ectoplasmic scum. Let go of my son." Mrs. Fenton yelled. Sam could see her fingers, twitching to pull the trigger. The only thing stopping her from blasting Bullet to kingdom come was Danny.

"I propose an exchange. Phantom is a danger to your city, agree? He is also a wanted criminal in the Ghost Zone. If I get him, you get your son." Bullet said.

Liar. Both of them were two halves of the same person. Walker wouldn't settle for one half.

"Phantom, don't. If you give yourself, he'll only come again to get Danny." Sam yelled when she saw that _look_ on his face, the one he always wore before he did something heroically stupid.

"You have a better chance of fighting them than Danny. It will be harder for us to save you than for you to save Danny. You know it." Sam tried to get through to him. It was better in the long run for Danny Fenton to be the one taken.

"Listen to her." For once, Danny was supporting her. Why? She was supporting his decision to sacrifice himself. The irony.

"So, you will leave my son with that post human ectowaste." Mrs. Fenton stated.

"It's a little complicated…" Phantom started.

"You will sacrifice my son for your freedom. I should have expected that. You're a ghost. All ghosts are evil. All you care about is your survival. You're the same as the whole lot of them. You are not the hero of Amity Park. You are a hypocrite." Mrs. Fenton said. The venom in her words stunned all of them, Phantom most of all. Mrs. Fenton had no idea how much her words had affected him.

He didn't even react when Mrs. Fenton fired her weapon at him. The neon green eyes dulled as Phantom fell and hit the island with a soft thud. Mrs. Fenton took out a coil of glowing rope and tied Phantom's wrists together.

"An exchange." Mrs. Fenton said.

"Mrs. Fenton, no!" Sam cried out. "Don't do it."

"Glad we came to an agreement." Bullet said and came closer, until his ghostly tail almost touched the ground.

"Mom, don't. You can come and save me later." Danny tried to convince her.

"I'm your mom, you are my son. I am supposed to protect you." Mrs. Fenton's gaze softened for a moment.

"But mom." Danny paused, his blue eyes unfocused slightly for a few moments as he thought of something. Sam could almost sense his thoughts, what he was going to do. After a few seconds, he came to a decision.

"Mom, there's something we've been keeping from you. You remember that ghost portal incident?" Danny said.

"Yes, sweetie."

"Danny Phantom appeared after that accident."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Mom, I'm Danny Phantom. See, Danny _Fenton_, Danny _Phantom_. Heck, switch the hair and eye colour and we look exactly like each other. I'm a halfa, half-a-human, half-a-ghost. I know this doesn't sound very convincing right now. We got separated after we came here. I'm the human half, he's the ghost half. You can't exchange Phantom for me. We're both…"

"What have you done to my Danny?" Mrs. Fenton demanded. "Answer me, Phantom."

"Nothing. He's telling the truth." A small sparkle of hope sparked in his dull eyes.

"It is scientifically impossible to be dead and alive at the same time. I am a scientist before I am a ghost hunter. I should know. Stop lying. Stop pretending to be a hero. You are not one." Mrs. Fenton looked towards Bullet, who had a smug smile on his face. "Let my Danny go."

"The ghost kid first." Bullet said.

"Same time." Mrs. Fenton narrowed her eyes.

"Agreed."

Both of them held on to both halves of Danny. Then, at the same time, they let go of one hand.

"Release them and return." Bullet called out.

Sam felt the cuffs disappear. Soon, there was no ghost in sight. Not one.

Not even half.

* * *

"Danny! Sam!" Tucker quickly opened the door to let the humans into the Specter Speeder. The sooner they got out of here the better. Wait… why was the atmosphere so gloomy? Why was Mrs. Fenton holding on to Danny like he almost died?

"What happened?" The techno geek asked.

* * *

Valerie couldn't believe it. If she had not heard about what happened from Sam but from Star and the others, she most probably wouldn't have believed. How could Mrs. Fenton, how could anyone say such hurtful things?

She stopped herself. After how she had treated Phantom, she had no right to judge Mrs. Fenton. She blindly hated Phantom and hunted him down because she wanted to blame what had happened to her on someone. But Danny stayed with her, became her friend, even though he knew she was the one behind the mask of the ghost hunter that made his afterlife horrible.

Mrs. Fenton made the same mistake as her. There must have been a reason for it, no matter how unreasonable it seemed. She couldn't judge her. Danny didn't judge her. He just accepted everything she dumped on him.

Valerie saddened. Danny deserved better.

* * *

He should never have made them forget. Sure there would have been awkward questions, but his parents had already accepted him being Danny Phantom. If he did not make mom forget that he was a halfa, this would not have happened. She wouldn't be holding him desperately as if she had almost lost him when she had just given away half of him to Walker. Mom would be planning on how to get him out of Walker's Prison with his other half.

Danny buried his head in his arms.

What was he thinking when he changed reality?

* * *

In the end, Mrs. Fenton's opinion of Mr. Phantom did not change. He saw the look in his charge's eyes, how affected both of them were by their mother's words. Mr. Lancer had seen how Mr. Fenton endured since the beginning, even though he had not known of Mr. Fenton's extra activities then. The young teen had so much determination, always ready to face whatever life threw at him. It took a lot to break young Fenton.

He could only hope for Danny to pull himself together, both halves.

* * *

A small bug detached itself from the woman's neck. Unnoticed, it turned itself intangible and slipped out of the vehicle. Once out of sight, the ghost bug turned into a serpent, its true form.

It was a manipulator, manipulator of shapes, manipulator of thoughts. It was easy for it to manipulate that woman's emotion without her notice. Amplify some emotions, dampen a few, as long as her words crushed the ghost kid. Such an easy job with so much payment. It hoped to work with the other halfa again.

* * *

Phantom allowed them to lead him. He couldn't focus on anything. His mom's words were still echoing in his head. It was so overwhelming, a lot more than what he had expected when he thought of revealing his secret to his parents. The words just kept replaying themselves, not even in order sometimes. His brain couldn't even begin to actually absorb what the words meant. All he knew was that the words hurt.

A lot.

"We meet again."

Dull green eyes lifted slightly. The jail door closed behind him.

"Walker allowed me thirty minutes with you." Spectra said. Behind her, Bertrand wringed his hands in anticipation. She shivered.

"Your misery."

She held his chin and lifted it so that his eyes met hers. Her lips curved in a smile.

"It's delicious."

* * *

The sequel for _**Defending their Hero**_ will be _**Finding their Danny**_. Unfortunately, I probably won't be updating much in November. I'm going for the NaNoWriMo. And I'm hoping to finish up my own original story to publish it as soon as possible. I hope that all of you can be patient with me.

And.

Thanks to all of you who have supported me all this time, in all your different ways.

21 story favs: Dannyphantomfreeek, Gamoora, Jyxa, Kaiser Fangirl, MoonlightUmbreon, , Ocean's Nocturne of the COCA, Perspective, Phantom Melody, Swiftrivers, TexasDreamer01, WickedNut, Yuul, Zaly-wa, bookwormally, dannyphantom92, dappledsunlight, goldacharmed, inukagome15, thriefty and xwickedxspiritx.

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Thank you.

_Enray_.


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